Learning Objectives: Recognize and share key informants' experience in planning a smoking cessation training program.
Abstract:
Problem/Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the current smoking cessation counseling practices of prenatal clinics in ten Louisiana parishes to plan a smoking cessation training program (MYFSF).
Methods: Source data came from key informant interviews with clinical administrators in each of the ten parishes. Key informants were sought from 57 clinics in the ten-parish region via appointments and drop-in visits. Nineteen administrators agreed to be interviewed from these facilities, at least one per parish. Interviews were conducted by the same interviewer, face-to-face in the administrator’s facility (8-15 minutes). Questions concerned policies, clinical characteristics, perceptions and practices about prenatal smoking and cessation.
Results: Nineteen administrators were interviewed (7 private and 12 public). Public facilities see lower income populations with limited health coverage while private facilities see mostly insured patients. Public facilities also lose many of their patients during follow-up unless they return for WIC vouchers whereas private facilities have fewer turnovers. An enhancing factor for providing a cessation program is that a policy to screen all pregnant patients for tobacco use is in place at all interviewed facilities. Challenges to smoking cessation include lack of familiarity with the stages of change model for quitting smoking and lack of set procedures for providers to ask about smoking status.
Conclusions: Based on opinions gathered in key informants’ interviews, an opportunity exists to commence MYFSF in these 10 parishes of Louisiana. Current challenges can be overcome with training and procedural implementation provided in the MYFSF smoking cessation training program.
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